


Trust me

by DangerousDaydreams



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Severus Snape Lives, Time Skips, Triwizard Tournament, Young Severus Snape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:00:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29463897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DangerousDaydreams/pseuds/DangerousDaydreams
Summary: Follow your relationship with Severus Snape from 1985-1997.
Relationships: Severus Snape/Original Character(s), Severus Snape/Reader, Severus Snape/You
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Trust me

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment if you want something similar I might take requests for one shots. I was planning on adding a smut scene but it didn't feel right so assume they do in the years right before 1997. I wrote this all in one go so I might have to edit this later. Enjoy!

You had started teaching at Hogwarts in 1985, you’d been apart of the muggle world since graduating Hogwarts 8 years ago. Things were easy enough though not being around magic or children for a while made you a bit jumpy especially your first year teaching. You’d taught a menagerie of subjects, mostly covering for sick teachers but you always taught the upper level muggle studies course. In your time away from Hogwarts you’d gone to muggle university and settled into a life of working for large companies across Europe. There wasn’t anything bad about what you’d been doing but you were tired of what your life was becoming and a change like this was necessary.

You met with Dumbledore in the summer, after interviews with him and the ministry being able to relax had been hard so Dumbledore invited you to Hogsmeade to have a drink with him. You’d been staying in town since your muggle house was a long journey to town even with the apparition methods that were available. Plus the town was quiet with no kids around so you’d be able to get to know the place again in peace. You’d met with Dumbledore at the Three Broomsticks, it was almost nightfall and the tones of the other patrons seemed quite relaxed. He reassured you, took you through what the school year looked like and asked you about your life after a few drinks. Dumbledore smiled at you and put his hand on your shoulder before leaving. After another drink you decided to take the side exit out, it was closest to where you’d been renting a room. You took a sharp left turn once you’d left the building and accidentally bumped into someone you hadn’t noticed in the dark. The man was tall, dark, and brooding, dressed in all black with black hair. You smiled at him, apologized and bid goodnight before swiftly exiting the area. 

When you moved into Hogwarts you were introduced to everyone before being left to your own devices, though you hadn’t recognized the man you had bumped into earlier in the summer was no other than Professor Severus Snape. He seemed ambitious but jumpy whenever you approached him, though he always responded honestly or at least you’d hope so. The first 3 years were pretty silent, you’d made friends with the more senior professors but never joined them on outings or their parties. It just wasn’t your thing. You’d been placed near the astronomy tower so you heard couples throughout the night sneak up there only to be caught by someone on the way down. You thought it was amusing for the most part, you well remembered what it was like hooking up with your former beaus at Hogwarts. Those days were long since past and you’d taken up reading as a source of companionship. That was what you were doing well past midnight when you got a knock on your door. Opening the door you saw Severus Snape still full clothed fuming at your door. His face scrunched up a bit when he saw you in a shirt that was so long he didn’t see the sleep shorts underneath.

“There’s a student gathering in the astronomy tower, come assist me.” His voice was in typical fashion though he questioned your sleepwear fashion mentally.

Without a work you grabbed your cloak and put on some shoes, latching the cloak to cover up your pajamas you headed to the door where you followed Severus up the tower. After a winding twist up the stairs, he opened the doors to the room and the whole tower fell silent. The students, disappointed to have been caught by Severus, made a different inflection when they saw you. You guessed they hadn’t ever been caught by you for using the tower so why would you bust them now. You’d escorted the group to their common rooms with Severus before turning back to head to your room. He escorted you back most of the way.

“Do you attend to anything but your books?” Severus’s voice was low, you thought only because of the time.

“Hmm?” 

“Do you pay attention to anything else but your books?”

“I do, why should you ask?”

“I am wondering how you couldn’t hear that party in your quarters, I could hear it two corridors away from the base.”

“I guess my walls must be thick.”

Severus stopped yards from the turn to take you to your quarters. “Are you attempting to allow students to roam as they please throughout the night?”

“No, are you accusing me of something?”

“No-“

“I just teach and read my books in peace Professor Snape, I’m not conspiring against you to allow students to run amuck.”

Severus paused “I did not say you were conspiring against me.”

You walked to the turn to your quarters, “I like and respect you too much to do that” you wrapped your arms against yourself “Good Night Professor Snape.” Severus watched you go back into your room before leaving to return to his. 

The next time you met face to face was just after classes had ended for the day when Severus pulled you out of your office to go down to Hagrids, for what you weren’t sure. 

“It’s Severus”

“Hmm?”

“Call me Severus, referring to me as Professor Snape is a bit much.”

“Oh yes, well I apologize Severus I didn’t know if you were okay with such informalities previously.”

Severus turned his head to look at you before turning back “Minerva and Dumbledore are the only other ones who are... allowed... to call me Severus, though for them I did not asked them to call me Severus.”

You wanted to press but the fact that you weren’t alone made you wait “I could say I feel special but there’s no such thing as special here.”

“I would in fact disagree F/N, the special here seems to be negative though.”

You nodded and both of you continued on to Hagrid's where you helped pick up his ingredients before heading back to the castle.

It was a few weeks later and you were in your office pretty unhappily, you had had enough of ignorant students messing with your class regularly. You could handle some harmless pranks but the lack of respect as a human being you’d been receiving lately was disheartening. You just wanted to finish grading and go to bed, try again tomorrow. Yet the knock at your door angered you like nothing else “I am busy.” the knocker tried your door “I said I am busy!” 

“It’s Severus, I need to speak to you.”

With great annoyance you’d unlocked the door with a flick of the wrist, throwing your grading quill down to the desk. “I am not in the mood to speak with anyone, is this urgent?” The door opened and Severus stepped inside closing the door behind him.

“I overheard some 5th years speaking about your class.”

“How is that an urgent matter.”

“Would you like to tell me what is going on?”

“Actually no.”

You both stared at each other for a minute hoping either one would back down from their position.

“You can’t let students see that you’re affected by their antics.”

“That’s why I’m in here alone.”

“Are you going to address it?”

“How the hell am I going to address my students Severus when they don’t acknowledge that I am a person in the classroom let alone their teacher.”

Severus’s face didn’t move but he moved across the room to your desk. He looked at you with what you assumed were kind eyes but you were never sure. He was looking at you for defeat, weakness, something to show him you weren’t enough but he instead saw that you were just tired. He softened his face and had to remind himself that you weren’t like him, you were a normal person with a normal life. 

“I would recommend overloading them with work you’ll never grade.”

You blinked slowly and turned your head to look at him directly. “Exactly why I would do that.”

“You’re a teacher F/N, a very good one, but if they don’t see you as a teacher and only a teacher they’ll never respect you.” 

“You flatter me but do you respect me Severus? As a fellow teacher? As a person?”

“I- yes, I do. Despite your subject of choice.”

“That’s all I need then.” You smiled lightly but your anger didn’t waiver. “If I can get you to respect me of all people, then some kids can get wrecked.” 

Severus didn’t respond but didn’t move to leave.

You picked up your quill and after checking the names on the papers in front of you marked them with C’s. You pushed your chair from your desk and stood up. “I’m tired, walk me to my room?”

Severus nodded and let you lead the way, following behind you until you’d left your office and stayed to your left side after that. It was only a few hallways down to the astronomy tower so it didn’t take long. When you got to your door you held your finger up to signal him to wait as you unlocked the door. Walking to the trunk at the end of your bed, you opened it slightly and grabbed a bottle of fire whiskey. Heading back to the door as Severus hadn’t moved from his position outside of your room you handed it to him. “I think you’ll need this for the rest of this week.”

Severus carefully took the bottle into his hands and looked at it before looking back at you. His lips upturned into an almost smile, though it seemed like it hurt him to smile, so you took what you could get. He nodded but didn’t say anything. You smiled and turned to go back in your room, “Good night Severus”, you didn’t give him a second to respond before shutting the door behind you.

Later that week Severus was on the hunt to find you again and this time it wasn’t out of friendly concern. You’d taken his advice too far, much too far for even him. That next day you’d implemented a new homework policy of 30 inches on the chapter at hand per night plus added a new assignment of 100 inches over automobiles due at the end of the month. In addition to that instead of lectures most of your class time was now spent giving pop quizzes that were worth much more than what they should’ve been. He knew Dumbledore was about to talk to you about it and Minerva had already warned you of the over doing it but you hadn’t heeded her words. He found you headed down the hall with a stack of papers.

“F/N!”

You stopped and turned your head.

“Yes Severus”

“My Slytherins have been complaining to me and their parents about the amount of work you’ve been assigning.”

“Yes and how is that my problem?”

“How are you grading all of that work F/N?”

“I’m not, I’ve been burning it at Hagrid's.”

Severus paused “F/N you have to be careful” his tone shifted and his body language changed in a way you couldn’t tell why “I know other students can complain and Dumbledore will write it off but some of my students have parents at the ministry-“

“Are you threatening me Severus? Wasn’t this your idea in the first place?”

Behind him he heard students walking down the hallway to their common room, so he grabbed you by the outer cloak and pulled you around a corner to where they couldn’t hear or see you. “You need to watch your mouth, you don’t have to prove where your loyalties lie but I do and if I don’t fix this-“

“Then what? What are you going to do to me Severus?” His right hand was still grasping your cloak and his left was on the wall behind you, you were pinned in and you were toeing the line heavily. His face leaned in and you saw a mix of emotions, he seemed angry but scared mostly and you couldn’t put your finger on why.

“It’s not just your career on the line, dial it down, I will take care of them in my class just don’t jinx this for yourself.”

“How are you going to take care of it Severus? How will you get them to listen in my class? I just want them to be prepared for exams it’s not like I’m trying to convert them or something?!” You were upset still, just as much so as you were the last time the two of you talked. 

You weren’t sure who moved first or how but all of a sudden his lips were on yours and he pressed his body into yours. It felt like you were there under him for a very long time before he pulled away, his face hadn’t seemed to change in emotion. He made direct eye contact and only spoke 2 words “Trust me”, which you did.

1989 passed without much incident so did 1990, so you trusted Severus at least as much as you could. He never told you exactly what was happening with him and Dumbledore only told you that you’d know when the time was right but that didn’t help you. So you took your relationship with Severus as it was, it was professional though sometimes you kissed in the dark hallways or in each other’s office. You never talked about it or let it affect you in many ways other than what nights you took curfew duty. You’d allow yourself to get closer to Minerva who’d divulged some information about Severus but didn’t poke the bear, other people’s trauma wasn’t your place to meddle. 

1991 came and went, the whole Quirrell situation was a mindfuck. A lot of what you’d been told by others didn’t line up to what you saw happening. You wanted to ask Severus but decided not to. He asked you to trust him when things would get rough or he would get hurt and so you did, things always seemed to get figured out even if it was attributed to Harry Potter. It happened again in 1992 and 1993, but after the last event of the Triwizard tournament you caved and went to Severus for comfort.

When Severus, Minerva, and Dumbledore returned back from the ministry after the tournament, you waited a while before taking the stairs down to the dungeons. In the 9 years you’d been at Hogwarts you had only been in Severus’s rooms a few times and it was only to help him carry things in or out. So going to his room felt like you were in trouble with a teacher despite being a well established teacher yourself. You knocked on his door twice before stepping back to wait. It only took him a minute before opening the door, he waved you in and you walked past him before stopping in a spot out of the way. He’d gotten partially undressed at this point, though still fully clothed, he shut the door before turning to you.

“You always tell me to trust you and I do. Can you tell me anything to get my head around what’s happening here?”

“The dark lord-“

“I know he’s come back that’s very clear and he’s trying to kill Harry Potter but what does this have to do with any of us?”

“It’s all in Dumbledore's hands, there’s nothing I can do but follow his orders.”

“Who’s orders Severus?”

Severus’s face turned a little bit at the question. “I know you know the answer to that question.” 

“I don’t care who, I just don’t want anyone else who didn’t want to be involved killed. Cedric Digory-“

“You know he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.” He seemed angrier than usual. “He wasn’t a pawn or a piece of meat but it happened and we all have to deal with it.”

“How are you going to deal with it?” You were pushing it, way past what you normally asked. “I don’t care what you’re doing outside of teaching here Severus, I’m trusting you to keep people here safe and if you can’t keep bystanders from getting hurt how can I trust you?”

“It’s Dumbledore's plan!” Severus closed the gap between the two of you “I do whatever keeps either side happy until the plan is complete.” 

You wanted to ask him if he was a death eater but you already knew the answer at this point, “Just... reassure me that I won’t die and others are being protected.”

Severus reached out and placed his hand on your cheek, “I can’t promise anything you know that.”

You hesitated but leaned your head into his hand “I know, I trust you I’m just scared.” You closed your eyes, your face grimacing before opening again. 

His eyes seemed kinder but you couldn’t tell for sure what changed in him. You leaned forward and kissed him, he moved his hand down to your neck and grasped firmly. This was the first time you’d kiss after an incident at the school or in his room. He kissed with a great passion but also care, you pulled away like normal as despite it being normal you never kissed for long or took it further than that. He pulled you back to him and wrapped his left arm around your waist. He told himself he was holding you close for your sake, you told him you were scared after all. You stayed like that for a while, even after the kiss broke off you buried your head in his neck and wrapped your arms around him. After a while of that you both let go and you both looked at each other.

“This isn’t it you know?”

“I know.”

You stayed at Hogwarts over that next summer, you wanted to help the cause but couldn’t if you were going to stay teaching without arousing suspicion. Your ultimate goal was to prepare the students for the inevitable war that was going to take place, you didn’t need Severus or Dumbledore to tell you that. Your relationship over the next two years changed very little, he showed little affection for you outwardly but you understood why. He was your friend and being close to him was dangerous but to be fair being anywhere near Hogwarts was dangerous. When Severus killed Dumbledore it didn't surprise or shock you, it’s a part of the plan you repeatedly thought to keep yourself sane. You knew to stay away, keep in your lane and stay away from the Order and the Death Eaters if you didn’t want to be targeted. You told Minerva that while you would fight for the order that you couldn’t for your own safety be a part of fully until the time was right. You also told her you knew of Dumbledore's plan but that you weren’t sure of what was next. Minerva reassured you and told you that what we all do during this time is up to ourselves, that it was okay to be scared as long as what you did was for the greater good. When Severus was named headmaster you were overcome with emotions, nothing good was ultimate going to happen from any of this. You only met with him twice during that school year each time speaking about classes until the end. He would walk you out of the office before grabbing you harshly by the neck, he looked at you in a way that hurt but not in a bad way. You knew that what you were doing was right and that Severus was doing what was best for everyone even if it didn’t make sense. You relaxed against the grasp though it still proved hard to breathe so you choked out “I still trust you.” before he let go and sent you on your way.

Everything since the last time you’d met with him had been a blur. Harry Potter had come back and McGonagall had forced Severus out of the castle, retaking Hogwarts. By the time the battle had the soft light of day upon it you knew Severus was gone too many people had been whispering about it for you to doubt it. Sitting in the Great Hall you felt you could do for the time being. Everything was a blur again, you couldn’t breathe straight, while on the floor you thought about your options. If he was gone what was the plan now, what good was for you to still be here as well. You looked at the bodies surrounding you and you knew it wasn’t a part of the plan. The battles around you were devastating and nothing seemed real, Harry Potter was facing off with Voldemort and there seemed like nothing you could do. Then with a flash of bright lights it was over, Voldemort was dead. You felt like you were going to pass out and you almost did before someone shook your shoulders

“You’re not leaving us prof?” It was George Weasley, god of course it was George Weasley. You gasped and took a breath like you hadn’t breathed in minutes before nodding. He helped you up and you turned to the group that hadn’t rushed to Harry when someone yelled behind you.

You turned your head towards the entrance of the great hall and you almost screamed. It was Severus, covered in blood but standing, it was Severus. The noises around you muddled together and in a second you ran to him. You leapt into his arms, wrapped your legs around him, he stumbled a bit but he held onto you. You wept but had no words, he buried his face in the book of your neck and sobbed a cry of relief. 

Those in the great hall who weren’t focused on Harry Potter were watching the two of you with much surprise. Severus was supposed to be dead, Harry watched him die, why were you in his arms. They saw your body physically move with each cry, what had happened. After a few minutes he set you down on your feet and you reached up and kissed him. You pulled away and told him.

“I did it, I trusted you. Like I promised.”


End file.
